Longest Vacation Ever! VGC, Aulani, & More!--Complete!!!

Great update! Your pictures are making me want to add some Maui time on to our Aulani trip this August!
I mean we may as well, since it only adds $50 to the plane ticket price, and we can stay at the Sheraton on points... right? and then it snowballs from there...

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Thats so weird about the skycap. Its a good thing you went inside to check. I guess thats a good lesson for us all  if one person tells you the flight is cancelled, get a second opinion. He should have been happy for all your luggage; more luggage = more tips.

Were your kids able to sleep on the plane ride out?

Your room is beautiful and your view is so pretty! When we went to Maui, we stayed at the Westin Kaanapali. We were very happy with the space and décor of our room, but were very disappointed in our view. We had booked an ocean view room directly through the hotel. We arrived early in the day, and of course our room was not ready. I asked the front desk clerk if our request for an upper floor had been granted as we thought that would have a better view of the ocean. She looked at me funny, handed me a key, and told me that while the room wasnt cleaned yet, we could go look at the view. Not only was the room on the first floor (I know someone has to get the first floor), but was the furthest from the ocean (think of a U shaped building) AND looked out upon a building under construction! All that we could see was that 5 story wall! It was their own building as they were adding on. It seemed it was 10 feet from our balcony. Back to the lobby we trotted. The woman told us that these were deeded timeshares, and that when the room was built and sold, it was deeded an ocean view and the deed could not be changed. I told her that when we booked our reservation on cash (not a timeshare exchange), we booked and paid for an ocean view. After much talking back and forth (and them insisting it was an ocean view even though you could no longer see the ocean) she was able to change us to another room. It looked out over the roof of the lobby. If you leaned over the railing, and looked far to the left, you could see a sliver of ocean. They had also said they would move us to a better ocean view if one became available. It did later that day and we received a gorgeous ocean front room on the 4th floor.

Wow!! It guess I had that bottled up inside! Sorry to go on so long on your TR, but it was a round about way of saying you got a fantastic view for an ocean view, and yours was a mountain view! How nice to have a view of the mountains and the ocean. AND you did get a great deal on the price.

I just love all of your pictures. Thanks again for taking the time to update us!

Sheri

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Oh my gosh. I'm glad your persistence paid off! Is that Westin the one that is north of Whaler's Village? If so, that's the first place we ever stayed in Hawaii--8 years ago. We were able to trade our (crappy) timeshare week for it only because it was under construction. I've got fond memories of that place. Mostly because it was an amazing trip...before kids.

Speaking of kids...only Zoe slept on the flight to Maui (and not as much as we would have liked), but everyone else kept themselves well occupied. It's the return home flights we were really concerned about. 8+ hours on the last day!

Thanks! I'll share our overall thoughts on the Marriott at some point. It was a great resort. Even better than I expected in most ways. Our only real complaint was that the furniture wasn't comfortable. Some day we think we'll buy a timeshare in Hawaii. I'd say this will be a good contender. As much as I love Disney, I'd buy into the Marriott Maui Ocean Club before Aulani. That's mostly because Aulani is on Oahu though.

Great update! Your pictures are making me want to add some Maui time on to our Aulani trip this August!
I mean we may as well, since it only adds $50 to the plane ticket price, and we can stay at the Sheraton on points... right? and then it snowballs from there...

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You think like me! That's how we ended up with a 19 day vacation!
Seriously though, you're already so close and if your accomadations are pre-paid, if you have the time and money--GO FOR IT!!!

I wanted to get more updated this weekend. But we visited relatives yesterday and today I was a domestic goddess. I baked 5 dozen wheat and rye rolls (for friends and family) and a loaf of bread from scratch. I ground wheat and corn for various recipes we'll need this week. I juiced fruits and veggies for double batches of 4 different juice recipes for today and tomorrow. (DH and I are juicing 2 meals a day this week to detox from all the less than healthy food we ate on vacation!) I made homemade vegetable beef soup for dinner too. Yum! Anyway...I'm glad I could add one more day. I'll try to get more done Wednesday.

Ok I just got all caught up, wew! The villas at GCH are amazing, and that view!! I am glad you enjoyed your trip to DL, it is so fun to read about. Maui is gorgeous, not liking that whole "hanging off the mountain" thing, is that the norm when driving around there? That would scare the bejeezus out of me that's for sure.

Just beautiful!! Sitting in a lounge chair, holding a sleeping baby and watching whales in the ocean is as close to heaven as I can imagine!

Mind if I ask, what were the temps were? You can tell it is windy in the palm trees but the kids are dressed for warm weather. Would you recommend this time of year for travel to Hawaii?

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Mostly it was 80 degrees. It was only cool if you're wet AND it was overcast (5 minutes here and there.) It was beautiful overall. The day of our drive was the coolest day-77 degrees and windy. That's why we picked that day to drive. I think it's a great time of year to visit--especially because that's when the whales are there! It's also the only time of year we've ever been there.

Ok I just got all caught up, wew! The villas at GCH are amazing, and that view!! I am glad you enjoyed your trip to DL, it is so fun to read about. Maui is gorgeous, not liking that whole "hanging off the mountain" thing, is that the norm when driving around there? That would scare the bejeezus out of me that's for sure.

Excited to read more!

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Thank you! Only certain areas of the island are like that drive. Mostly the roads are just like anywhere else. That road was crazy but it's not like there were a bunch of cars at the bottom of the cliff. I have to believe it's not a big problem. Still, we drove all the way around that part of the island versus turning around and driving on the outside edge of that road.

I've been trying my best to read the Aulani portion of this trip report but can't figure out how to access it. When I click on the link at the bottom it just takes me back in a circle to the post. Is the tr on some other site?

I've been trying my best to read the Aulani portion of this trip report but can't figure out how to access it. When I click on the link at the bottom it just takes me back in a circle to the post. Is the tr on some other site?

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The Aulani portion is not complete yet. All of the completed portions are underlined in post #2. The link in my signature does link to this thread. Thanks for reading! I'll get to Aulani as soon as I can.

I wasn't ignoring you. After my last reply my computer went for a swim and didn't take to water well.

Then, Friday we left for Spring Break. We're in DC now. The rest of the family is still asleep.

Yes, I believe it s the same Westin. After check in, we had a great time. It's a beautiful place. Just loved the view from the lobby looking out over the pool and ocean. I guess a lot of hotels there do that though. I would love to stay there again but wouldn't pay extra for the ocean view as I might end up with the first room we had and not be able to move. We have a less than desirable timeshare too that we use for trades (actually are using a trade now in DC). I told my husband that if we had received that first room with a trade I would have been happy just to have any room.
We did have a great time and I'd like to go back.

I'll keep my replies short as I'm using an iPad (no replacement computer) and the last time I pecked out a reply on this I guess I took too long and I was automatically logged out and lost the post. That's when I typed for the last time my now departed computer.

While waiting on your next update, I went and read your trip report on BC/Univ/BLT.
So fun to read it and see pictures of the kids and compare to now! SO CUTE!